France already preparing some 2,000 troops for Ukraine, Russia claims

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - France is preparing some 2,000 troops to send them to Ukraine, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on Wednesday.

"The contingent for sending to Ukraine is already being prepared. At the initial stage, it will amount to about 2,000 people," Sergey Naryshkin said in an interview with Russia's state news agency TASS.

Naryshkin said French President Emmanuel Macron is also hiding the truth about the number of French soldiers already killed in Ukraine for fear of mass protests in his country.

"Sooner or later, Macron will have to reveal the ugly truth, but he will strive to delay the confessions as much as possible.

"As they say in the Elysee Palace, the number of French dead 'has already exceeded a psychologically significant threshold.' The release of such sensitive data can provoke citizens to protest, especially against the background of mass anti-government protests by farmers across the country," he said.

Last month, Macron refused to rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" two years ago. The idea, however, was rejected by the allies.